The 2Up barcade reopens after renovation, looks to fall for full expansion

The 2Up barcade on East Colfax Avenue reopened this week after a renovation, with more plans to expand this fall. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post)

Popular arcade and tavern the 2Up, an offshoot of LoDo’s vintage video game barcade the 1Up, was an instant hit when it opened on East Colfax Avenue last summer.

So when its owners had a chance to renovate and expand, they grabbed it. Phase II of the expansion, which we reported on back in April, isn’t scheduled to be finished until late fall. But that hasn’t stopped the 2Up from reopening this week after a two-week renovation of its existing space.

Much like its LoDo counterpart, the 2Up features tons o’ fun: 35 arcade games, 19 pinball machines (which they claim is the largest collection of pinball machines in the Denver metro area, and one of the largest in Colorado) and three lanes of Skee-Ball. And, of course, a full bar. But what about more space?

“Phase I of the project was the renovation,” Jourdan Adler, owner of the 2up, said in a press release. “We opened the location just over a year ago and it never quite had the feel we were looking for. We were presented with the opportunity to expand and we took this chance to completely renovate the place. The changes are dramatic. As soon as you step inside you can see the difference. It has the look and feel of a classic arcade.”

Phase II of the project is the full expansion, which will increase its size by more than 300 percent as it takes over the old Kitty’s East space. It’s also slated to include a live music venue.

A&E reporter John Wenzel has covered a variety of topics for The Denver Post over the years, including video games, comedy, music and the fine arts. He's been playing and loving video games since his dad brought home a sweet ColecoVision in 1983. Catch him on PSN as beardsandgum.

Hugh got his start writing for the Cheyenne and Woodmen Edition newspapers in Colorado Springs. In 2011 he moved to Denver where he has written for Denver Urban Spectrum and Colorado Community Media’s Wheat Ridge Transcript. Hugh joined The Denver Post in 2014 as an editorial assistant.